A New Day Dawns for Sanford The town officially will become a city this Tuesday

Thursday

Dec 27, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By Ellen W. ToddSanford News Writer

SANFORD — Next week, as holiday revelers are toasting the new year and sipping champagne, the Town of Sanford will officially become the City of Sanford.

The transition at midnight on Jan. 1, 2013, will make Sanford — Maine’s seventh largest municipality — the state’s 23rd, and newest, city.

The change is the result of voters’ approval of a new charter in November. The new charter, which was put to a vote of the public following a year and a half of work by a charter commission, was approved by a 10 percent margin, with 55 percent of Sanford voters favoring the charter and 45 percent voting against it.

The charter commission’s goals were to “develop a charter that thoroughly addresses the evolving needs of Sanford and positions Sanford to be the center of economic growth in York County.” After review of the previous charter, the commission discussed concerns and opportunities for improvement, and sought input from citizens. Two public meetings and a public forum were held before the proposed new charter went to the citizens for a vote.

Sanford began its life as a settlement under the name of Phillipstown and was incorporated as the Town of Sanford in 1768. It became the 25th town in Maine.

Other than the change of references from “Town” to “City,” most residents will probably not notice much difference within the first few months. The Town Council will now be the City Council; however, the Council Chair (to be elected at the first meeting of the new year) will now be the interim mayor. In November 2013, the mayor will be elected by voters.

Under the proposed changes, the mayor will be recognized as head of the City government for all ceremonial purposes and by the Governor for purposes of military law, but the mayor would have no regular administrative or executive duties.

Sanford’s representative town meeting will be eliminated and voters will vote on the municipal budget and the school budget each year, as they currently do with the school budget.

The new charter also replaces the current 11-member finance committee with a seven-member budget committee. Members will be appointed to one-year terms by the city council and the committee will include four members at large and three members from the city council.

On the eve of the changes, former Charter Commission Chair Robert Stackpole said he is “extremely pleased for Sanford and for the people of Sanford” that the new charter was approved by voters.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for Sanford,” Stackpole said during a phone interview on Wednesday. “What we were trying to do was empower the voters.”

Stackpole said he thinks campaigning for the position of elected mayor will begin “almost immediately,” with councilors and other potential candidates for the fall election attempting to make known their vision and goals for Sanford’s future.

“Sanford will have a true political leader,” Stackpole said of the new structure. “I think it’s a very exciting time for Sanford.”

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